Since Android 8.0 (Oreo), app icons aren't fixed shapes anymore. Depending on the phone manufacturer's launcher, your single launcher icon might be displayed as a circle on a Pixel, a rounded square on a Samsung, or a squircle on a OnePlus — all from the same icon file. If you don't design for this, parts of your icon get clipped on some devices.
Here's how adaptive icons work, and how to design for them using the free shape preview in GMC Tools' App Icon Generator.
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How Adaptive Icon Masking Works
An adaptive icon is conceptually a square image with a mask applied on top by the launcher. The mask can be:
Your launcher icon file itself is still a flat square PNG — the launcher decides how to crop it. This is why a single icon can look different across phone brands.
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The Safe Zone
Because you don't control which mask gets applied, Google's guidelines define a safe zone: keep critical visual content within the center area of the icon, leaving margin on all sides so that no matter which mask is applied, nothing important gets cut off.
In practice, this means:
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Previewing Before You Export
The GMC Tools App Icon Generator includes a live preview with three shape options:
This takes the guesswork out of "will this look right on a Pixel vs a Samsung?"
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Generating Your Adaptive-Icon-Safe Set
mipmap-* files are now masking-safe across launchers---
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to submit separate foreground/background layers for adaptive icons?
For a basic, solid-icon approach (which covers the vast majority of apps), a single masking-safe square icon works across all launchers. Layered adaptive icons (separate foreground/background XML) are an advanced option for icons with parallax/animation effects.
Will my icon look different on every phone?
The shape (circle vs rounded square vs squircle) can differ by manufacturer, but if your design respects the safe zone, the content will look correct on all of them — just with a different outline.
What's the safest shape to design for?
Circle — it's the most aggressive crop. If your icon looks good as a circle, it'll look good as any less-aggressive mask too.
Does this affect iOS icons too?
No — iOS always applies the same rounded-square mask to every icon, so there's no per-device variation to worry about there.